perception of beauty in Romantic Period

Füsun Kaya
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Before Romanticism some movements advocated that all aspects of human life could and should be determined by logic and reason. According to these beliefs universal truth can be understood only with the application of rationality. In Romanticism emotions, beauty, individuality and particularly the imagination became a guide for understanding of universe. With this change, a modification on people’s perception about nature, beauty and imagination occurred. To Romantics it was possible to have a deep truth which was also called as sublime through perception of beauty. So, artists used imagination that accepted as a step to deep truth in order to capture beauty. One of the Romantic activists Keats thought that it is much more useful to explain feelings and sensations than thoughts. Ode on a Grecian Urn that is a Romantic Period poem is about the nature of beauty.. The poem is notable for this is an ode addressing an urn and expresses feelings and ideas about the experience of an imagined world of art, in contrast to the reality of life, change and suffering. The poem is a praise verse; we can describe this form by comparing that good feelings to a beloved. So, this Urn an object that the poet praise; why? Because there is a picture depicted on the surface of the urn. The poet loves this picture very much for it demonstrates his ideal world referring to eternity. Keats describes his desire for permanent, eternal and pleasurable world.
Keats personifies the urn firstly by comparing it with “unvarish’d bride” and “foster child”.
“unvarish’d bride of quietness, Thou foster child of silence and slow time” Here Keats makes a combination of quietness. There is a picture on the surface of the urn illustrated many years ago. Although the urn itself is in real world, the picture on its surface and the life in it illustrates are not affected by the passing of time of the real world. Time doesn’t change them. So, the bride remains “unvarish’d” and the urn is subject to “slow time”, because it is a “foster” child. They don’t suffer from change and suffering that everyone has to face with in the real world.
“Sylvian historian who canst this express, A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme”. Keats uses a paradox between beginning and the end of the stanza to show power of art. He makes a comparison between the art of history and art of poetry. The poet talks about some events, stories and legends saying that history and art, both of them can explain these events, stories and legends. He claims that artist’s expression is much better that historian’s. The events can be told by historians in terms of anthropology, history, archeology, and other scientific. They see Grecian Urn as a piece of history, as a kind of historical remain and it is just an old object. “flowery tale” means that it is brilliant and impressive, a powerful tale. It has many aspects, it is not just a picture. This is a Romantic poetry that is expected to express more than history. Hence, the poem is not only about a story illustrated in the picture on the surface of Gracien Urn it is about the urn itself. In other words, this poem objectivizes this Grecian Urn as a subject matter. To understanding of Romantic poetry, an ode can only be written, told by a poet not by a historian. History can give detailed information about the urn in many aspects, however; it is an artist, a poet who can write an ode for Grecian Urn. Writing is something more than science or searching something in terms of science, it is related to feelings and it needs creativity and different point of view to events, people or objects. An artist, a poet enjoys writing a poem. There are two aspects in this poem. The first is the picture illustrated on the surface of the urn and the second is the Grecian Urn itself, because it represents the passage of time. To historical point of view it a sign of passage of time, it is from the past, ancient. However, according to John Keats, it is not give an impression of time because when people look at the picture on the urn they see just an eternity for everything in this picture remain survive, they seem alive. In other words it doesn’t represent only the eternity of time but also but according to poetry it is eternal, permanent and alive. But to science all of them passed away, the urn is just an object having some signs belonging to past. But from the artist’s point of view, the art suggest revival and immortality that is the power of art.
“What leaf-fring’d legend haunts about thy shape , Of deities or mortals, or of both,” . These two lines shows that this urn is from old times and the picture on its surface is portrays the society living in early ancient times. In Tempe or the dales of Arcady? What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape? What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?
“Tempe” and “Arcadia” are the places where mortal and immortal inhabitants live. Here Keats uses a strategy to raise the interest; certainly the speaker knows who those people in the picture on the surface of the urn. Men, women and Gods are entertaining , having rejoice and they are all in ecstasy. There is music, they are playing fluets, they are drinking, eating, having enjoy themselves. There are completely difference towards the end of the stanza. At the beginning of the stanza there are “silence” and “slow time” but there are not “silence” and “slow-time” any more, they seem to be alive. The poet uses the power of art/poetry to refresh the characters in the picture. It is one of the feature of Romantic poet. Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d, Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Keats praises the silent music coming from the urn, he finds it is sweeter than the music of real life for the music that comes from the urn is for the spirit. It is from the endless imagination of the poet. The poet also shows that again the power of art. While science is engaging with heard melodies belonging to real world, poetry is unrevealing unheard melodies.
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
In these lines a young piper keeps playing music and there are some other youngs, ”fair youth”, having enjoy beneath the trees and music is going on. There is a kind of praise of youth, beauty. Keats emphasizes that there are trees full of leaves and green like Grecian by saying “trees be bare”. They have the same green. For, there is no time in the picture nothing will change so, the leaves always will remain green and people will too. In following lines we can say that there is a reference to braveness;
“Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,” the lover can never kiss his beloved, he is about to have reach his goal, “Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve;” he cannot achieve his goal, time is frozen at that moment. So, it doesn’t need to be upset for they have this delight forever. “She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss, For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!”, his beloved will remain young and beautiful forever. They will be together all the time.
The poet addresses the trees “happy, happy boughs”, because they will be the same, never shed their leaves, they will always be green and then speaks to piper, “happy melodist”, because he will sing forever. “For ever warm and still to be enjoy’d, For ever panting, and forever young;” the lover should be happier for his love for his beloved will remain forever. There is love delightful and perfect in poet’s imagined world contrarily in real world it is painful and imperfect. “burning forehead, and a parching tongue.” There is again the poet shows the power of poetry making the urn an object of art that resists the limits of time.
In the following stanza contrary to previous stanzas the speaker talks about community not individual. He questions about people moving towards an altar to sacrifice a “lowing” cow and demonstrates their town that will be empty forever because there is no time, in other words frozen time.
The Grecian Urn is referred as an “attic shape”by being referenced to “Attica” that is a region in ancient Greece. It means that the urn is in attic shape that made in ancient Attica. The poet emphasizes the beauty of urn. This urn is much more than a historical remain. It is something to have some words to say people. The poet attempts to state the craftsmanship of the painter dealing with the details, in producing that artistic scene. It is profoundly decorated with “brede”, men and women in a forest enjoy the scene of branches of trees and weeds. John Keats here describes the Grecian Urn as “Cold Pastoral” because it is made from a cold, unchanging material. Then there is again sound to be silent but the urn has power to make us feel eternity. Keats emphasizes eternity of this urn. When the generation at that time all have gone, the urn will be remain. The Urn will convey Keats messages to the next generation, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty.” At the end of the stanza as a piece of Romantic poetry, it emphasizes the beauty and through beauty it reaches the truth. There is no need to look for deeper, the only need for human being is beauty itself. Beauty and truth they are not different, they are the same. We cannot separate them. There is no differentiation between what is truth and what is beauty. This is the Romantic ideal achieved by human experience and only Romantics can represent it.

Firstly, the poet demonstrates a kind of historical scene and talks about some human being, some figures. There are some ancient historians. He talks about their interests about the past and describes their way of expression.